Success for Spurs Dance Team at UNT Conference

(ABILENE, Texas)–The Spurs Dance Team can be spotted cheering for the Cowboys at almost every sporting event at HSU, but when they get a break from performing, they focus on improving, practicing their choreography, and coming up with new routines. This year, the Spurs achieved great success while competing at the American National/International Championship and Collegiate Championship held at the University of North Texas two weeks ago. The HSU dance team got an overall ranking of Division I, ranking behind Dallas Baptist University in 5th place.

Their coach, Bailey LeRoux, explained that the conference is held every year, and is international, as teams from Japan come and compete. HSU’s last attendance at the conference was in 2017, where they got a slightly lower score than they received in 2019. The Spurs participated in the Jazz and Solo category, focusing mainly on their jazz routine. Three judges determined the final score, and competing in the highest division against 11 other teams, the Spurs earned 3rd runner up in the jazz category.

“I am very proud of the girls and how the dancing looked. Our main goal was to improve our last score, and we significantly did. We had stiff competition this year, but it was really satisfying to finish behind DBU because it was the team to beat,” says LeRoux.

The Spurs took their first ever solo competitor, Kelsey Sanders, who earned a Division II rating against soloists from TCU, UT-Austin, Texas Wesleyan and more. Sanders choreographed and directed the solo performance herself.

The Spurs increased their 2017 score by 18 total points, taking their team from a Division II rating to a Division I rating. The team looks forward to another year of growth and hopes to increase their score similarly again next March.

“Our expectations for next year are to keep improving our score. I am satisfied with this year, and we will challenge ourselves with tougher routines, but also improving our score and ourselves,” says LeRoux.